Welcome to the Consumerist Archives

Thanks for visiting Consumerist.com. As of October 2017, Consumerist is no longer producing new content, but feel free to browse through our archives. Here you can find 12 years worth of articles on everything from how to avoid dodgy scams to writing an effective complaint letter. Check out some of our greatest hits below, explore the categories listed on the left-hand side of the page, or head to CR.org for ratings, reviews, and consumer news.

royal caribbean

A couple from Oregon who were visiting Puerto Rico when Hurricane Maria hit say they were abandoned by United Airlines, forcing them to find their own way home. But their extended stay on the Caribbean island also resulted in an impromptu wedding. [More]

In the last month a number of cruise lines have either canceled or rerouted trips after a string of hurricanes raged through the Caribbean. While the storms have passed and many companies have once again set sail, Royal Caribbean canceled yet another trip this week. This time, however, the change of plans was intended to help bring much-needed relief to the millions of Americans in Puerto Rico whose lives have been turned upside-down by Hurricane Maria. [More]

Millions of Florida residents are battening down the hatches and evacuating in advance of the monstrous Hurricane Irma, which has already wrought havoc and devastation across many island nations of the Caribbean. But Florida is also a major travel and tourist destination for millions of visitors every year, whose plans to go to or through the affected areas are obviously going to be disrupted. So what are your rights and responsibilities if your vacation has to give way to the forces of nature? [More]

If there’s anything we know about heading out on the open sea, it’s that you’d better have plenty of lifesaving equipment on board. That’s why a failed safety inspection has left more than 2,000 passengers on a Royal Caribbean cruise stuck at port instead of sailing the high seas on Valentine’s Day. [More]

Ever since April 1, 1922 when our print forerunner, The Consumerist Bugle-Gazette, ran an April Fools’ Day cover story that unwittingly — but accurately — announced the death of exiled Austrian Emperor Charles I, we’ve not tempted fate and avoided such tomfoolery. But others aren’t burdened by these ghosts of Aprils gone awry. [More]

Royal Caribbean cruise ship Anthem of the Seas is not having a good year so far: after getting smacked around by a major storm in February, the vessel had to turn around on another journey due to more bad weather, and, to add to the fun for passengers this time, a norovirus outbreak. [More]

A Royal Caribbean cruise ship is turning around and heading back to where it started in New Jersey, after the vessel was damaged in an “extreme” storm that forced passengers to take cover in their cabins overnight. Four passengers were injured during the rough ride, though the cruise line says none of those injuries are serious. [More]

Depending on your tax situation, the approach of Tax Day is either a paperwork-filled nightmare or a day to kick back and enjoy having filed and received your refund back in January. It doesn’t matter when you filed for the growing number of Tax Day discounts and freebies at stores and restaurants, though: here are a few that might keep you fed and relaxed today. [More]

The good news? We made it an entire month into 2015 without having to report on yet another norovirus outbreak on a cruise ship. The stomach-turning news? That break hasn’t lasted long, as a Royal Caribbean ship was forced to return to port earlier than planned after more than 200 onboard fell ill with a bad case of the barfs. [More]

The high seas can be perilous, despite the best efforts of cruise ships to protect passengers from going overboard. So when a passenger on a Royal Caribbean Cruise somehow ended up in the water, he was extremely lucky that a Disney cruise ship happened to come by a few hours later to rescue him. [More]

Earlier today, we shared with you the news that a Caribbean cruise out of the port of Bayonne, N.J. has become a plague-wracked hellscape instead of a vacation. Well, maybe that’s overstating it a little, but things on board are unpleasant. According to the Centers for Disease Control, so far 19% of the passengers and 4% of the crew have the mysterious gastrointestinal illness. One passenger who isn’t sick (yet) took to Reddit to answer random strangers’ questions. [More]

The ghostly specter of the Poop Cruise is out haunting again and this time it picked a Royal Caribbean cruise ship to mess with: The Explorer of the Seas will cut its 10-day trip short by two days after more than 600 people on board succumbed to an outbreak of gastrointestinal illness. [More]

So much of what happens on a cruise ship happens in international waters and far from U.S. shores, and cruise lines aren’t legally required to share with the public every detail of every incident that occurs on board every one of their ships. One stat for which most cruise passengers would expect an accounting is the number of people who have gone overboard. Most cruise operators disagree and think you only want to know when an American goes missing. [More]

While one might hope that a cruise ship — or any other vessel nearby — would help people stranded at sea, that’s not always the case. Which makes it altogether refreshing and heart-warming that the captain of a luxury cruise ship listened to his passengers when they reported hearing cries for help in the water. [More]